'ECHO empowers 1100 households affected by flood disaster in Kogi', says Red Cross »

No fewer than 1100 households who were victims of 2024 flood disaster, have received relief items from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) intervention project, through the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Society (IFRC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the supports were provided by ECHO through the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Society (IFRC) under its intervention project.

The Acting Secretary, Kogi State Branch of the Nigeria Red Cross, Abdullahi Abubakar, disclosed this on Friday when his team visited the flood-affected Edegaki Community in Kogi Local Government Area.

Abubakar said the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Society (IFRC), had implemented series of humanitarian interventions under the ECHO project, adding that the visit was to get feedback from beneficiaries on how they utilised the items earlier distributed to them.

Abubakar noted that ECHO through its intervention project, had provided relief and recovery supports to thousands of flood-affected households in Kogi, Delta and Anambra States.

He disclosed that 1100 households across three most affected local governments areas, including Idah, Kogi and Lokoja Local Governments Aeas, have benefited from the project across Kogi State.

According to Abubakar, the relief items distributed included: 20-liter jerrycans, buckets, Aqua tabs and ATM preloaded with N77,000 for each benefiting household.

“Three communities including Alla-Ogane, Alla-Atenoguma and Alla-Ichala, comprising 300 households were covered in Idah; while four communities including Galilee, Sarkin Noma, Edo and Kampe, with 400 households benefited from Lokoja.

“In Kogi Local Government, four communities of Ogbangede, Irenodu, Onumaye/Edimose and Edegaki, with 400 households benefited from the initiative.

“The beneficiaries were selected based on criteria such as aged 60 and above, sick persons, people with disability (PWDs) and pregnant mothers, while communities most affected by the flood from each of the three Local Government Areas were selected as well,” he said

Abubakar explained that: “The supports came from ECHO, through International Federation of Red Cross to International society (IFRC), down to state.

“Nigeria Red Cross Society take it upon themselves, we took two speed boat and go on water to identify most of these communities for us to get the real people that are affected”.

“We set out criteria to enable us reach the most vulnerable because without that, we cannot really cover everybody.

“The criteria enable us to resized the number of people to meet up with our target, and after picking these people, we came out with communities that were worse hit.

Responding on behalf of Edegaki community, Assistant community leader, Alh. Ahmed Ibrahim, who is also a beneficiary, thanked the ECHO and the Nigeria Red Cross and partners for providing the items to mitigate the devastating flood effects on their livelihoods.

Ibrahim said the community was always affected by flood, saying though not everyone would receive the items at a time, but they have made it a point of duty to share the items among themselves.

“Whenever there is flood, this entire community will be overrun by the flood, right from time, we always had promises from other NGOs that they are coming to intervene. Sometimes they will come for registration, end even asked for tips before we can get registered and at the end of the day, nothing happened.

“We want to show our appreciation to Nigeria Red Cross Society and other people who made it a point of duty to distribute these items to us and also train us on how to use them,” Ibrahim said.

Other beneficiaries, Amina Abdulkareem, Yengbani Ali, Mariam Mohammed and Zainab Yusuf, all appreciated ECHO and Nigeria Red Cross and its partners for coming to their aid.

They said the gesture had enabled them to pay their children’s school fees, repair their houses after flood, buy food to eat, as well as drinks clean water.

They appreciating the ECHO and Nigeria Red Cross and its partners for standing by their words, and prayed God to continue to bless the organisations.

They, however appealed to ECHO, Nigeria Red Cross and other partners not to relent in their efforts in giving them attention whenever there is flooding, stressing that Edegaki community remained their ancestral home anf do not have any other home to relocate to.

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